This surgical intervention, which has become “necessary” due to the worsening of the symptoms explained by the Pope, will lead to hospitalizations for “several days”.
The secret was well kept: the control visit that the 86-year-old Pope Francis made on Tuesday at the Gemelli Hospital, where he had made a tour, was intended to prepare for a new surgical operation in the intestine, which must take place this Wednesday afternoon, according to the Vatican.
The official press release published on Wednesday morning states that François will undergo general anesthesia to place a “prosthesis” on the “abdominal wall” to correct the effects of a “broken incisor” where there is a risk of “occlusions”. that are “worsening”. causing pain”. The Vatican press release, which is rarely so detailed at this time, said the hospitalization will last “several days” before a “full functional recovery” is achieved.
The Secretary of State and Deputy of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, clarified that this operation is not “a vacancy” or “a temporary replacement of the Pope in the exercise of his functions”. After the operation, his duty will resume “even if it’s done from a hospital bed,” he told reporters. “In the case of urgent files, they will be taken to him at Gemelli Hospital.”
Also read Pope Francis’ Mass in Marseille on September 23rd
The Pope’s departure to the hospital came after the general audience that Francis usually held in front of hundreds of the faithful, in the extraordinary presence of the relics of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, brought there on the occasion of her 150th birthday. The pope gathered in front of the reliquary, where he announced an upcoming apostolic letter about the world-famous French saint.
“Infectious Bronchitis”
On March 29, the pope was hospitalized for “contagious bronchitis.” However, in July 2021, he was hospitalized for 10 days at the same facility for a major colon surgery in which 33 centimeters of intestine were removed.
The Vatican does not appear to be particularly concerned about this new intervention, as on Tuesday it confirmed Francis’ August 2-6 trip to Portugal. In addition, the continuation of Wednesday morning’s general audience – which the Pope calmly brought to an end – as well as an appointment with a cardinal and another with a high-ranking Muslim official right at the beginning of the morning point to this operation, which was carried out on Tuesday after a scanner was decided, did not have an absolute emergency character as in July 2021, since in this case Francis would not have returned to the Vatican. However, we have to wait until Wednesday evening for new information on the course of the operation planned for the early afternoon.
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